Last night, I finally saw Lost in Translation.
I was disappointed.
I didn't get Charlotte. At the beginning, I thought I did - I could connect with her lounging around, her worry that she didn't feel anything at the temple, her feeling directionless. But then I couldn't figure out how she knew Charlie Brown, but didn't seem to want to know Tokyo. And her husband making the comment about not everyone having gone to Yale implied that Charlotte had gone to Yale. Except then she told Bob that she'd graduated in the spring, got married two years ago, moved to the west coast when she got married. So, she either never went to Yale, or transferred from Yale - which made me wonder about her husband's comment.
And Bob. His sleeping with the singer seemed incongruous. Not that humans should be totally predictable - off or on screen. But, I just didn't buy it - that he would get annoyed with his wife, and end up in bed with random woman, rather than Charlotte. Not that I wanted Charlotte and Bob to hook up, but it would have made more sense. Because Bob didn't seem like a turdneck, just unhappy.
And then, to top off my disappointment, instead of parting with the sexual tension totally intact, they had to kiss. I wanted their parting to be sad but platonic, with their feelings lingering below the surface, rather than connecting through their lips.
So, I guess, to sum it up - good thing I didn't make the movie, or it wouldn't have won so many awards.
Posted by Shokufeh at April 3, 2004 12:03 PMI'm not reading your entry cuz... guess what? I haven't seen it, either! Soon I will.
Posted by: +mojan. at April 5, 2004 09:37 AMI just saw it last night and it didn't do anything for me either. It just felt long and boring. Maybe that's the point -- to feel as bored watching the movie as the two of them felt in Tokyo.
But Gisou really liked it. And I did enjoy the cinematography.
This is the second highly acclaimed film in recent times that I didn't connect with. The other one was The Hours.
Posted by: Afshin at April 5, 2004 08:34 PMI too held off on reading this post because I hadn't seen it. Our local video store is horrible and never stocks enough of the award winning movies that obviously the entire town is going to want to rent as soon as they come out, so it literally took our household almost four solid weeks to get a copy of Lost In Translation.
I agree with your sentiment on the kiss at the end. I was hoping for more of a lingering run after the plane as it takes off sort of scene, like in Almost Famous when William takes Penny to the airport and you feel the pull he feels as he runs thru the airport following her plane. Some sort of scene like that would have kept it in focus I think.
I took the Yale comment as it was, just a comment, but I was also perplexed by how she didn't connect with Tokyo but a few days later is out with her best friends in Tokyo...
ps - I heart Giovanni Ribisi, I was glad to see him in this.